- Joined
- Dec 26, 2006
- Location
- Land of Long Horns
So I have been using the Koolance V2 pot for Dice for a while now and wanted to see how it compares against some other CPU pots....note this is for dry ice only.
I did not do any analytical tests or charts and stuff, just want to share some of my experience using the various pots.
Pots Used:
Koolance V2
K|ngp|ns's F1EE
K|ngp|ns's Evo 2.4
CPU - 980X on RIIIE
COMMENTS and EXPERIENCE
Koolance V2
Pro's:
The Koolance pot from a temperature perceptive managed to hold the temps much better than the other two, between -72C and -75C. It depth and width of the pot seems to be a prefect balance to avoid acetone from blowing out, it also keeps the dice/acetone in slurry form which is imperative to keep the temps stable and low. Frosting of the outside of the pot was no problem at all. Also the pot has a nice capacity so you can really load up on the dice which reduces dice addition frequencies. The spacing and size of the holes at the base of the pot works also well to balance optimum cooling keeping the mixture slurry.
The pot is nickel plated which does not tarnish like the copper pots
Cons:
The width of the base makes it challenging to fit especially on boards with caps close to the socket.
The bolts that came with the pot is completely unpractical, I like the back plate and bolt configuration that the Kingpin pots has, simple and effective. First thing you do after getting the pot is to ditch the mounting bolts and get simple 5 or 6 “ threaded bolts.
Seeing that the acetal mounting bracket comes down to a third above the socket frost seems to collect just above the socket, so be careful, I just wrapped absorbent towel around and over the bracket joint to collect any moisture.
K|ngp|ns's F1EE
Pro’s:
Pot has a good surface bas that fits nicely on the CPU HIS. It is full copper and heave so no problem with making poor contact and being copper it is great heatsink (i.e. for drawing heat away from the CPU).
Bolt, back plate and rod configuration makes it really easy to mount and un-mount.
Cons:
The F1E took a long time to get the temps close to -70C and did not stay constant either. Also without the AL adaptor it is near impossible to get the acetone to stay in the pot, especially in the cooling down phase, it would blow out like a volcano, even with the AL adaptor I still had to put a rag over the mouth, the rag ended up soaking with acetone.
The main problem with the F1E was that I could not get the dice/acetone mixture, the dice tend to clog up the holes and then the temps would just shoot up as no acetone was cooling.
Also temps would hover around -65C and would rise quickly if I do not pay attention.
It was really difficult to use with dice and my poor OC results reflected that.
Not a major issue but the copper base tends to tarnish up rather quickly so that requires some maintenance every now and again.
K|ngp|ns's Evo 2.4
Pro’s.
Easy to mount as it has the same mounting hardware as the FiEE. Pot base area that makes contact with the CPU’s HIS is also nice and small so no interference with the caps around the CPU socket area. Pot is long enough to prevent any acetone blowout.
Pot base is copper which ensures good heat transfer.
Cons
Although I did not have any acetone blowout the Evo could not get as low in temps as the Koolance, also it would not hold the temps stable for a good period of time. The lack of holes in the base also reduced the heat transfer and it was evident in the performance. Keeping the dice/acetone a slurry was not as challenging as with the F1 but unless I kept stirring the mixture it would lock up and temps would rise as a result. The width of the pot is on the small side so that also contributed to the lack of slurry formation. Also I could not load the pot as that would immediately result in the dice to pack on and loose the slurry mixture one needs.
My Conclusions:
All in all I very much favor the Koolance pot from ease of use and effectiveness when using dry ice. It kept temps low, maintained good slurry and allowed me to focus on benching rather than keep the “pot going”.
Hope this helps all would be dice users out there.
I did not do any analytical tests or charts and stuff, just want to share some of my experience using the various pots.
Pots Used:
Koolance V2
K|ngp|ns's F1EE
K|ngp|ns's Evo 2.4
CPU - 980X on RIIIE
COMMENTS and EXPERIENCE
Koolance V2
Pro's:
The Koolance pot from a temperature perceptive managed to hold the temps much better than the other two, between -72C and -75C. It depth and width of the pot seems to be a prefect balance to avoid acetone from blowing out, it also keeps the dice/acetone in slurry form which is imperative to keep the temps stable and low. Frosting of the outside of the pot was no problem at all. Also the pot has a nice capacity so you can really load up on the dice which reduces dice addition frequencies. The spacing and size of the holes at the base of the pot works also well to balance optimum cooling keeping the mixture slurry.
The pot is nickel plated which does not tarnish like the copper pots
Cons:
The width of the base makes it challenging to fit especially on boards with caps close to the socket.
The bolts that came with the pot is completely unpractical, I like the back plate and bolt configuration that the Kingpin pots has, simple and effective. First thing you do after getting the pot is to ditch the mounting bolts and get simple 5 or 6 “ threaded bolts.
Seeing that the acetal mounting bracket comes down to a third above the socket frost seems to collect just above the socket, so be careful, I just wrapped absorbent towel around and over the bracket joint to collect any moisture.
K|ngp|ns's F1EE
Pro’s:
Pot has a good surface bas that fits nicely on the CPU HIS. It is full copper and heave so no problem with making poor contact and being copper it is great heatsink (i.e. for drawing heat away from the CPU).
Bolt, back plate and rod configuration makes it really easy to mount and un-mount.
Cons:
The F1E took a long time to get the temps close to -70C and did not stay constant either. Also without the AL adaptor it is near impossible to get the acetone to stay in the pot, especially in the cooling down phase, it would blow out like a volcano, even with the AL adaptor I still had to put a rag over the mouth, the rag ended up soaking with acetone.
The main problem with the F1E was that I could not get the dice/acetone mixture, the dice tend to clog up the holes and then the temps would just shoot up as no acetone was cooling.
Also temps would hover around -65C and would rise quickly if I do not pay attention.
It was really difficult to use with dice and my poor OC results reflected that.
Not a major issue but the copper base tends to tarnish up rather quickly so that requires some maintenance every now and again.
K|ngp|ns's Evo 2.4
Pro’s.
Easy to mount as it has the same mounting hardware as the FiEE. Pot base area that makes contact with the CPU’s HIS is also nice and small so no interference with the caps around the CPU socket area. Pot is long enough to prevent any acetone blowout.
Pot base is copper which ensures good heat transfer.
Cons
Although I did not have any acetone blowout the Evo could not get as low in temps as the Koolance, also it would not hold the temps stable for a good period of time. The lack of holes in the base also reduced the heat transfer and it was evident in the performance. Keeping the dice/acetone a slurry was not as challenging as with the F1 but unless I kept stirring the mixture it would lock up and temps would rise as a result. The width of the pot is on the small side so that also contributed to the lack of slurry formation. Also I could not load the pot as that would immediately result in the dice to pack on and loose the slurry mixture one needs.
My Conclusions:
All in all I very much favor the Koolance pot from ease of use and effectiveness when using dry ice. It kept temps low, maintained good slurry and allowed me to focus on benching rather than keep the “pot going”.
Hope this helps all would be dice users out there.
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